Break

20 Tips for Recent Graduates: How to Behave on a New Job

Your collaboration with professional resume writers turned out great and you finally got your first job? That’s awesome! This is a whole new stage of your life, so you’ll need to make some adaptations.

You took part in internships and extracurriculars during college, but a ‘real’ job is a much different experience. The mere fact that you are getting paid for your work is enough to explain the new level of responsibility you have. You will need to meet deadlines, adjust to office etiquette, impress colleagues and superiors, and do your job in the best way possible.

It’s not easy to launch yourself from the classroom into office environment. However, the challenge is not impossible: you can fit into the new setting if you follow these tips that teach you how to behave on a new job.

Do Not Download Unauthorized Content or Software

Any unauthorized content on web that may be freely available for download can get you fired. Everything you download on a corporate network can (and is) easily tracked. If you prefer (though not recommended), limit all your free stuff download related activities to your personal laptop and home network. Ensure you check for licenses to avoid any future complications. Clean up anything you have downloaded earlier.

Stay calm

It’s okay to be stressed when you start a new job. However, it’s not okay to show how nervous you are. Control your nervous habits like nail biting, hair pulling, neck cracking, and lip biting. You should also control the rambling that occurs when you’re nervous. Speak to make a point and make sure to stay calm in every situation.

Adapt your style

You still love those jeans that marked your style throughout college? It’s time to give up on them; you need a massive makeover. Your wardrobe depicts the respect you have for the organization you belong to. The visual impression you leave is extremely important in your overall professional performance. Maybe it’s not fair, but that’s the way our world works.

View challenges as opportunities

When you’re being introduced into a new workplace, every task will be a new challenge. Don’t expect to understand everything… you won’t! Challenges are not obstacles; they are opportunities to learn something new and set new goals for yourself. Use them!

Don’t talk about your studies

You just got out of school, so you still feel like that was the best period of your life. You like asking “where did you go to college?” Don’t do that! No one wants to hear about your crazy pranks and the professors that made your life miserable. A new stage of your life just started. Stay in the present moment!

Get your work done

Some of the tasks will be challenging, but most of them will be simple when you’re new at the office. Pay attention to the instructions of your superiors and make sure to get everything done by the deadline. If you’re not sure how to complete a particular task, ask your colleagues or superiors. Don’t worry; you won’t bother anyone with your questions. You’re new and you’re supposed to ask until you learn how everything works. Some more tips to simplify your days are here.

Offer your help

Some companies don’t delegate too many tasks to newbies. They give you some time to adapt, so you might finish your work quickly and then you’ll be left with nothing more to do. If that’s the case, you have a great chance to bond with the people in the office and learn something more about your job. Ask if some of them need help!

Boost your communication skills

Stay in touch with your colleagues. Ask questions, engage in conversations and accept that invitation for lunch.

Don’t steal people’s food

You really want some frozen yogurt and you see a package of your favorite flavor in the fridge? Stay away from it! Stealing other people’s food is the best way to make enemies in the office.

Be creative

Innovation will distinguish you from the crowd. You learned different skills at college, so find a way to implement them into the work you do. Try to think of unexpected approaches to a particular project and suggest different ideas on how to boost the appeal of a certain product or service.

Don’t act like you know everything

You don’t! Self-confidence is great, but arrogance is annoying. Don’t try to teach everyone in the office how they should do their work.

Stay away from office politics

You’ll recognize the clans and alliances the moment you step into the new office. Don’t try to become part of a group that gossips their day away. You need to leave the impression of an extremely confidential person.

Don’t keep yourself isolated

When everyone goes for a coffee during the break, join them! No one likes those newcomers who stay quietly in the corner and avoid all gatherings. You’ll feel much better when you get to know everyone around you. Make an effort to remember their names and act friendly in every situation.

Don’t get too personal

Yes, you should maintain a friendly attitude, but remember one thing: these are your coworkers, not your friends. Don’t invite them to your home and don’t spend the weekends with them. If such relations come naturally after you spend few months or years with them, it will be okay to develop strong friendships. At this point, you simply don’t know them enough.

Observe and learn

Your first job after graduation is an incredible learning experience. You might think you learned a lot at college or university, but you don’t know anything until you face the reality of the market. Observe how everything works, and learn something new about the company and the business every single day.

Don’t use social networks during working hours

This is a huge problem for recent graduates who get their first jobs. They are addicted to Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and other social networks. They always find a cool person to chat with, so they distract themselves from the work. Some of them go even further: they add colleagues and they start chatting with them. Don’t do that! Stay professional and learn how to live without social media during working hours.

Work on your self-confidence

This doesn’t mean that you should be the narcissist who claims to know every single thing. Those are not the favorite people in an office. However, you should maintain a healthy level of confidence that shows you deserve to be on that position. If you have something smart to say, then speak up without holding back. When you believe you can complete a particular task with excellence, it’s okay to step up and take the responsibility.

Stop complaining

Your first job may be hard. You’re not used to office hours and you can’t stay focused all the time. Your boss may be too demanding, and some of the colleagues will talk too much. Do not share your frustrations!

Show some enthusiasm

You should leave an impression that you like the job and you deserve it. People won’t like you if you’re passive; everyone is impressed with a healthy dose of energy and enthusiasm.

Don’t expect praise

Be prepared for this: most of the coworkers won’t like you. They will simply see you as a fresh graduate with no experience, so they will perceive your skills as inferior. Do your best job, but don’t expect people to praise you for it, because you’ll get disappointed.

Keep your private life separate from work

When you step into the office, you need to leave your personal struggles at the doorstep. Don’t send personal emails and don’t make calls unless you absolutely need to. Behave as a true professional; that’s how you show your dedication to the job. The opposite relation is also important – you should make sure to commit yourself to family and friends after office hours. Don’t pollute your private life with work!

Do not Install Torrent Software on Work Machines

Torrent softwares may use your machine to upload content as well. You may not know that everything in torrent comes for free since its peer to peer sharing. Using your work computer for downloading torrent may not be safe and may get you in trouble. Most companies block them anyways however if you are able to run them its not difficult to catch either.

The adaptation to the new environment will take some time, but you should always stay positive and confident in your own abilities.

Prepared by Mark Henry, an outsource writer and blogger at Essay-on-time.com. He also publishes press releases and notes popular among young people.